Osijek defied all odds Thursday and defeated Dutch club PSV Eindhoven 1-0 in Holland behind a 58th minute Borna Barišić penalty kick. The call may have been generous as the foul looked to be just outside the box, but no one from the Croatian side is going to fight that.
Osijek were thought to be all said and done when drawn with PSV but now they can realistically get through to the next round. And Gradski Vrt will be on fire next week when the return leg comes to Osijek on August 3.
Hajduk Split fought valiantly in Denmark, securing a 0-0 draw as they head back to Poljud on August 3. A single goal in the return match could mean life or death for either club’s European future.
While only one goal was scored between the earlier tow European matches featuring Croatian clubs, Dinamo managed to get two goals by the Norwegians at Maksimir. The only Croatian club to play at home today, Dinamo’s hopes of moving on to the playoff round are looking good. Dinamo will travel to Norway on August 3 to play in the second leg.
To out-do all of them, Rijeka are one win away from entering the playoff round of the Champions League. The Croatian champs secured a 1-1 draw against Red Bull Salzburg in Austria yesterday, and will welcome the Austrians back to Rujevica for the final leg on August 2.
Barišić Penalty
Nope. Dinamo has had an incredible run of success under mamic and they’ve developed incredible players. With four teams in Europe, the quality of the league has also flourished. It’s no coincidence that with mamic removed dinamo finally gave up the crown this year
Luka, I have to ask. Is there a hint of sarcasm in your last comment about Mamic’s organizational prowess or are you for real?
I think given the success off dinamo, the hnl, and the talent production to the repka, it’s not unreasonable to ask if mamic should run for president
The guy has shown incredible organizational abilities, determination, saavy, and persistence.
He might be the only type of guy that could turn the country around, and his resume seems to speak to it
@NK Drava Ludbreg
The state of the league is fine.
Don’t listen to the Croatian media and whiney Croats about the HNL. It’s a self-hating cynical culture, so you’ll never get a clear picture of how things are.
Yes we have crappy stadiums, and they are never full for league matches…but this will come as the league continues to trend in the right direction.
10 years ago, our top teams were getting hammered by Hungarian teams 8-0 on aggregate and eliminated by no name Irish league teams (Shelbourne?).
Today, that would never happen.
Even our 3rd and 4th place teams like RNK Split, Lokomotiva, and now Osijek have been taking out some decent competition in Europa qualifiers in the past few years.
All praise mamic for helping steer the hnl into the balanced powerhouse it has become. Four teams in Europe and producing star talent left and right. Svaka cast!
Really good day for Croatian sports…
Great to see our clubs competing in Europe.
Osijek, Rijeka along with the two big guns -are you kidding it’s great to see the quality of the Croatian clubs in action. Never thought I would say that considering the state of the league- I guess talent always rises!
and… we beat the Serbs.
Croatia defeats Serbia 12-11 in the World Championship water polo semi-finals and will play Hungary for the title on Saturday.
IDMEOOOOOOOO BARAKUDE!!!!!!
NAIL BITER WATER POLO WER Up 1 minute to go
Stunning win by Osijek. Still don’t think they will advance, but, that was impressive.
There’s one more round after this Hajduk 0-0 10 mins to go away
Dinamo 2-1 at half at home
Imagine if all 4 teams make Europe
Is this last round to make the groups?
Really awesome
Also helps the co efficient rankings if all to make groups I’m assuming?
I remember someone saying while back we could be in line for two champions league spots at some point the way we going?
I guess the hnl ain’t as crappy as some think
Historic win for Osijek! Now it’s time for Hajduk and Dinamo to win as well.
Man, sure as hell would be sometin’ if all 4 Croatian teams made it into Euro Competition!
Damn Osijek pulled that off and almost got an extra away goal in injury time. i saw a betting line last night that had you winning $900 if you had the balls to lay $100 on Osijek.
Osijek GOOOOAAALLL!
watch all of Hajduk catch the rest of dinano then water polo perfect
Always slow in the summer. And I’m sure people aren’t jumping out of there beds to watch Osijek in Europa League
this site dies if it’s not NT
Dinamo should advance to the next stage,
Hajduk could advance but it will be tough,
Osijek, well at least they made it this far.